How to Play in the Dark: Half-Day Retreat

A SAFE, PLAYFUL SPACE TO MEET LIFE'S CHALLENGES AND DISCOVER CREATIVE WAYS FORWARD

What if the challenges you carry aren’t blocks, but invitations?
What if your struggles—the freeze, the shame, the people-pleasing, the patterns that feel unshakable—could actually become doorways into freedom, creativity, and connection?

At How to Play in the Dark, transformation doesn’t just come from talking about what’s hard. It comes from meeting it with curiosity, movement, imagination, and play. Here, you don’t simply think about change—you embody it.

This is not a lecture. Not a performance. Not therapy.
It’s a co-created ritual of play, creativity, and emergence.

You will be supported in awakening your body, unlocking your voice, and inviting your imagination into the process of healing. Each gathering is shaped by the unique energy of the people in the room, which means no two experiences are ever the same. Together, we’ll step into the unknown—discovering freedom, connection, and possibility along the way.

And after an 4 hours of play, we will gather over a shared meal to integrate and digest the experience in community.

✨ Clarity in your nervous system — learning to sense your true YESs and NOs with more confidence.
✨ Creative new ways to meet your challenges that move you out of old patterns and into fresh possibility.
✨ The intimacy of being truly seen within a supportive, playful community.
✨ An expanded sense of what “play” can be — discovering forms of play you didn’t even realize counted.
✨ Synchronicity, intuition, and magic — moments that remind you healing can feel alive and surprising.
✨ Embodied tools for daily life — practices you can return to when stress or conflict arises.
✨ A felt experience of transformation through ritual, imagination, and co-creation.
✨ Freedom — the release of what no longer serves you, and the courage to try on new ways of being.

This isn’t just about “working on yourself.” It’s about reimagining what it means to live fully, authentically, and vibrantly. It’s about reclaiming every part of you—even the ones hidden in the shadows—and discovering that those parts might hold your greatest gifts.

And yes, it’s deep.
And yes, it’s sacred.
And yes, it’s FUN.

Sliding Scale $88- $144: Feel free to alternatively Vemno me @Danielle-Rifkin-1 to register and then send me an email at [email protected] to save your spot. This will save the cost of fees.

FACILITATOR:
Danielle Rifkin, LPC, ATR is the owner of How To Play In The Dark. She is a Somatic, Art & Play Therapist, and Grief Ritualist. She has been running grief circles, art groups, and other experiential offerings for over a decade. She got her Master's degree from Naropa University in Transpersonal Psychology and has worked in a variety of therapeutic settings in her career. She has facilitated hundreds of groups where she emphasizes creating spaces that allow for authenticity and feeling safe enough to show all parts of themselves. She believes that the biggest moments of transformation happen in community and through experiences, when we are safe enough to surrender.

TESTIMONIALS:
"Danielle is a masterful and intuitive facilitator. How to Play in the Dark is a space of deep exploration, creativity, healing, and connection. I felt so deeply seen and held as we explored our edges and our darkness with curiosity, compassion, and of course - play! It's hard to capture in words, but this experience is sacred, healing, and, dare I say, holy. If you want to receive support around a challenge, in a way that feels honoring and authentic while also bringing lightness, joy, and transmutation, I highly encourage you to attend this potent experience. It's one of a kind." -Kimberly

“Danielle creates the safest spaces because she cares so deeply about feeling safe.” -Julie

“In my 55 years, I have never been a ‘group person’, feeling a private, vulnerable, not my cup of tea vibe, maybe protection. The experience I had, facilitated and held with such profound love and grace by Danielle, was like spiritual honey and homecoming. To gather in the dark, to transform the dark, in such a space of power and safety was like a long awaited and yearned for exhale. It was important. It was beautiful. It was nurturing and gently nudging that edge simultaneously. It was healing and transformative. And it was stabilizing. I am profoundly grateful to Danielle for creating and guiding this experience, the effects of which will Ripple and alchemize much more than I can even know now. Just beautiful.” -Laurel

FAQS:
Do you literally play in the DARK?
The word dark is metaphorical for when we feel in the dark about something. Although we could shut off the lights and put on some blindfloods if that was needed or part of the play, in this context the word “dark” refers to “struggle, challenge, mystery, unknown, wounds, fears, etc.”

What type of play do you do in the groups?
Since these are co-created and emergent experiences, every group is different. The play that we utlize is activated from the group field and the creativity of participants, which can take us in a lot of different directions. That being said, some examples could include psycho-drama, somatic processing, singing, dancing, parts work, etc.

Do I need to feel comfortable knowing how to play?
Absolutely not. This group is about coming as you are and learning. A lot of people that have come to these groups feel self-conscious and uncomfortable around play and it becomes an incredible opportunity to reclaim your relationship with play. We welcome you truly as you are.

Do I need to know what I am struggling with when I arrive?
Nope. You are taken through a process to uncover your needs and intentions as we land into the experience.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

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Host or Publisher Danielle Rifkin, LPC, ATR